It’s another busy day across the world of professional hockey, even though there are just three total contests on the NHL schedule. In Europe, big games are set to be played in Czechia, Finland, Slovakia, and more while in North America there are some intriguing contests not just on the NHL schedule but in the AHL as well.
Although the NHL’s annual holiday roster freeze will now stop player movement in the NHL, player transactions are still happening across the wider world of pro hockey. As always, we’ll keep track of those moves here.
- 2018 New York Islanders second-round pick Bode Wilde has transferred from Slovakia’s HC Banska Bystrica to the EIHL’s Cardiff Devils. Wilde has made the decision to leave his Slovak club after just 21 games there, ending a tenure that began when he signed there in the offseason. Signing with Banska Bystrica marked Wilde’s return to European pro hockey (he spent 2020-21 with HockeyAllsvenskan’s Västerviks IK) and he finishes his time there with nine points in 21 games. The six-foot-three former U.S. National Team Development Program defenseman now heads to Cardiff to join one of the EIHL’s top teams this season.
- Atro Leppänen, one of the fastest-rising players in Finnish pro hockey, has had an option in his contract exercised by his club Vaasan Sport, meaning he will remain with the club for an additional season. The 25-year-old defenseman was playing in Finland’s fourth tier of hockey as recently as 2018-19, before eventually becoming the second-tier Mestis’ top-scoring defenseman last season. That earned him a shot in Liiga with Sport, and he has excelled so far in his rookie year. His eight goals and 15 points rank inside the top-15 in league defensive scoring and his 23:07 average time-on-ice per game is currently tied for the fourth-highest in the entire Liiga. He’s undoubtedly been a revelation for Sport and the decision to retain his services for another season was likely an easy one for the club.
- Veteran forward Jonas Berglund, a veteran of nearly 400 SHL games, has signed a two-year contract extension with his current club Luleå Hockey. Berglund, 33, is now in his seventh consecutive campaign at Luleå, the club he developed at starting as a youth player. Although he’s never been a major offensive contributor, the defensive forward has been a consistent presence in the team’s lineup through a highly successful period in club history. While championship glory has eluded Berglund and Luleå, in Berglund’s most recent stretch the club has reached both the SHL and Champions Hockey League finals as well as an additional SHL and CHL semifinal. The hope will be that within this season and the additional two covered by this extension Berglund and Luleå will be able to finally take home some hardware after getting so close over the past few years.
- Veteran forward Jonathan Hazen has signed a two-year contract extension with an option for a third year with Swiss National League side HC Ajoie, a club he has represented since 2015-16. Although the former Val d’Or Foreurs and Cincinnati Cyclones star never quite made it past the ECHL in North America, he has become one of the best and most important players in Ajoie’s club history. A member of the Swiss second division when he joined, Ajoie has now been part of the first-tier National League and is in its third season with that status. Hazen, who ranks fourth in all-time scoring for the club, scored a whopping 81 points in 46 games en route to the club’s promotion, and his 33 points in 38 games helped save the club from relegation last season. With 12 goals and 21 points in 23 games this year, Hazen remains Ajoie’s most important offensive player and a key piece in Ajoie’s efforts to avoid relegation once again this season.
- The ECHL’s Florida Everblades have acquired former Vegas Golden Knights fourth-round pick Slava Demin from the Allen Americans in exchange for future considerations. Demin, 23, is in his rookie professional campaign, having concluded a five-year NCAA career last spring. He suited up for three college hockey programs in that span: Denver, UMass, and Merrimack College. Although he never quite put together an overwhelming offensive season Demin’s size allowed him to be an imposing physical presence at times. He’s scored five points with a -15 rating for the Americans and will now join the blueline group with the Everblades, a team that has surrendered the second-fewest goals in the ECHL. He replaces forward Jake Bricknell on the Everblades’ roster, who was released after just one game.
- 2018-19 Hobey Baker Award finalist Patrick Newell appears on his way out from his ECHL club the Orlando Solar Bears, potentially ending his comeback to North American hockey after just 14 games played. The 27-year-old former St. Cloud State University star signed his entry-level contract with the New York Rangers after as stellar 47-point senior season. He only managed 13 points in his rookie AHL campaign, though, and by the end of 2020-21 he had played his way out of the AHL. He left for Norway, where he starred for Stjernen Hockey, and then split last season between the ICEHL’s Fehérvár AV19 in Hungary and HockeyAllsvenskan’s Södertälje SK in Sweden, helping the latter club reach the postseason.
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